Vandals angered over the removal of “The Rocks” have lashed out, spray painting a restroom along the Paint Creek Trail.

At 3:42 p.m. Oct. 18, Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies took a report of vandalism from the Paint Creek Trailways Commission.

On Oct. 17, Paint Creek Trail Commission Manager Kristen Myers received a call from the maintenance contractor for the Paint Creek Trail Vault Toilet, located at 1240 Kern Road.

The contractors were there to clean the restroom when they found offensive graffiti on the building.

It is believed that the vandalism occurred sometime during the night of Oct. 16, as the graffiti was not there when the contractors came to clean the restroom that day.

Vandals damaged the trail restroom and spray painted “Bring back the Rocks” along with other obscene words.

The cost for removing the paint is estimated to be about $200.

Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said the township would “continue to pursue prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”

Orion Township officials worked with local contractors to remove the concrete slabs, remnants from the old Rudd Mill Dam, earlier this month.

The removal of “The Rocks” created an online firestorm of disparaging comments from residents angered over the removal, many claiming that the township had removed part of Orion’s history.

The Lake Orion Review’s Facebook post about the removal of graffiti-covered concrete slabs generated more than 80,000 views and 144 comments.

Township officials, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Paint Creek Trailways Commission and other authorities have all held the position that “The Rocks” created an ecological problem for the creek.

Paint Creek is one of only a few remaining cold water trout producing streams in southeast Michigan.

After the public outcry, Orion Township also saved some of the concrete slabs, but have not revealed where the rocks will be displayed.

For more on the removal of “The Rocks,” see the Sept. 27 and Oct. 4 issues of The Lake Orion Review.

This incident is under investigation and anyone with information should contact the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies are encouraging the public to immediately report any suspicious persons, vehicles or circumstances to police by calling them at 248-858-4911.

— Information for this article was compiled by Lake Orion Review staff and taken from Oakland County Sheriff’s Office incident reports.